The Democratic Party of Korea and the Progressive Party agreed Monday to field a unified candidate for the Ulsan mayoral election.
Cho Seung-rae, secretary general of the Democratic Party, and Shin Chang-hyun, secretary general of the Progressive Party, announced the "Electoral Alliance and Unification Agreement" at the National Assembly. The two parties agreed to select a unified Ulsan mayoral candidate through a 100 percent opinion poll method before the official campaign period begins on the 21st of this month. They will also unify candidates for five basic-level municipal heads, including the heads of Ulsan's Dong, Buk, Jung, Nam districts and Ulju County, as well as some metropolitan council seats.
Within the broader liberal camp, the alliance structure was completed after Hwang Myung-pil, the Rebuilding Korea Party candidate, declared his support for Democratic Party candidate Kim Sang-wook the previous day, followed by the unification deal between the Democratic Party and the Progressive Party.
On the conservative side, a possible unification between People Power Party candidate Kim Doo-gyeom and independent candidate Park Maeng-woo had been discussed, but related talks are currently suspended. As a result, the Ulsan mayoral election is expected to be effectively a three-way race.
In the seven Ulsan mayoral elections held since the revival of the direct election system, conservative candidates have won six, with the exception of 2018. Attention is now focused on how the liberal camp's unification will affect public sentiment in Ulsan, a region with strong conservative leanings.
Chung Hee-yong, secretary general of the People Power Party, criticized the agreement, calling it "a typical blind unification aimed solely at votes and a vote-sharing collusion."
